Emergency crews better prepared for aircraft incident

The Northern Grampians airbase is one of the busiest in the state during the fire season.

A crashed plane, leaking pesticides, and a pilot trapped in the cockpit — a highly stressful situation requiring specialist knowledge to manage.

It is why a training exercise recently brought together a range of emergency service personnel in Stawell, to prepare for the possibility of such an incident unfolding at the town’s increasingly busy airbase.

Stawell Fire Brigade member Zach Portelli, who also works at the airbase full time, coordinated the event.

The training session came after he learned some of his brigade members hadn’t been to the airbase in over a decade.

“The airport has changed dramatically in that time. Even simple things like new access gates — it’s changed quite a lot,” he said.

Stawell airbase is one of the busiest fixed air wing firebombing air bases in the state, with five aircraft based there during the Fire Danger Period.

It means the environment can rapidly change — from little activity, to aircraft taking off and landing every 15 minutes.

“During a reasonable sized incident, additional fire-related aircraft can also be relocated by the state air desk, which can see up to ten fire-related aircraft operating from the air base at any time,” Mr Portelli said.

“In addition to this, Incident Management Team (IMT) personnel often require charter aircraft at the same airbase.

Emergency services recently came together to simulate an aircraft crash response at the increasingly busy Stawell air base

“Plus the support activity required, which can see a dramatic increase in operations very quickly, with mixing and loader crews, and fuel trucks coming and going.

“When the airbase gets busy, not only with fire related aircraft, but with normal air traffic and training aircraft as well, it makes the airport quite busy.”

Deeming it important for all agencies to be involved, what was planned to be a quick tour of the base for some of his firefighting mates evolved into a full tour and simulated incident to test and review agency response and coordination procedures ahead of the 2022-2023 fire season.

Members from Stawell, Great Western and Halls Gap fire brigades were joined by local police, SES and Ambulance Victoria personnel, as well as representatives from the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning and Northern Grampians Shire Council.

CFA Commander Tony Miles said the exercise was valuable for all agencies to experience working together in an aircraft emergency.

The simulated incident involved a plane coming off a runway, leaking an unknown pesticide with the pilot still trapped inside.

Commander Miles said it was an “excellent opportunity” for first responders to work collaboratively to resolve the incident.

Similar exercises will be held more regularly.